Although the recent rise in energy bill prices, petrol cost increases, mortgage interest rate instability, and the overall general cost-of-living crisis has created a dominant talking point in the media over the last 12 months, it’s becoming more difficult to utilise the news, land links, and coverage for brands in the sector.
The phrase “money talks” has never been more relevant, in more ways than one, and although the current financial turbulence we’re all facing is generating multiple PR angles on a weekly basis, it’s also making the market even more saturated than usual, with SO many brands (finance related or not) jumping on the cost-effective bandwagon.
In light of the above, I’ve analysed how our digital PR strategies in the finance sector have generated thousands of relevant results in 2023 to date, including backlinks and TV coverage, and shared my tips on what’s working.
NEWSJACKING
As cost-of-living updates are coming in thick and fast (Sky News literally has a cost-of-living blog that is updated throughout the day), it’s important to be prepared to respond to any fresh news.
Develop a strategy, whereby quick turnaround, commentary, data, or stats are easily accessible. Ensure a newsjacking media list is set up and ready to go at all times, and for further relevancy, include a link back to any onsite blogs or content that can shed further light into the current news, to encourage journalists to add the link in.
TELL JOURNALISTS SOMETHING THEY DON’T ALREADY KNOW
With personal finance being a specialist subject, journalists working on it will already know generic overviews or top-level info. New information, bespoke data, or a fresh angle will be more helpful to their story.
So, think deeper, go into the social or regional implications of financial news, read existing articles, and look for the extra angle you wish you had data on.
Then, use that intel to create your own surveys or panels. Generate your own answers to the unanswered questions and give journalists something they don’t already know that is completely bespoke to your brand and expertise.
UTILISE YOUR INTERNAL EXPERTS
The cost-of-living crisis has been a guessing game for many of us as we try to predict if costs will rise or fall over the coming months, but the annoying truth is – we don’t really know.
It’s times like these when we rely on experts, the people that can give us the most accurate prediction or account of a situation that is backed by years of knowledge and experience, so be sure to utilise your internal resources.
If you need a very specific insight, ensure you work with an expert in your team to build quotes and text to share with journalists that include genuinely useful information that could be the key to completing a news story or answering the public directly.
CASE STUDIES
Where applicable, create case studies to demonstrate any talking points within your press releases.
Many publications are on the hunt for real-life depictions of what’s going on in the news, creating a real opportunity for coverage and link-building. As personal finance is a universal talking point, we often found that we could generate case studies based on our specific angles, giving us an extra resource to use for outreach.
MAKE SURE YOUR KEYWORD GAME IS ON POINT
In the rush of personal finance updates and interest rate changes, journalists may have to quickly research background on specific topics to reinforce their news story.
So, if you have a blog, work closely with your SEO team to ensure the keyword game is on point for anything relating to the PR content you are outreaching. This may be the difference between a journalist finding your data and insights first, and linking back to the blog, or picking a competitor that has similar information.
